


The (Belated) Obligatory Hot Springs Episode

by prpl_pen



Category: Kill la Kill
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-11 00:50:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5607481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prpl_pen/pseuds/prpl_pen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-series. Satsuki takes the gang on a vacation to an onsen. Mako has specific ideas about what this means. Some background Mako/Ryuko mentions, but mostly gen. Gift fic for a Plurk holiday fic exchange.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The (Belated) Obligatory Hot Springs Episode

Honnouji Academy may have been no more, but despite graduating and moving forward in life, the former student government was just as close-knit as ever--there was no question Satsuki was responsible for that, as her Elite Four had no ambitions to completely separate from her service. To the contrary, the loss of the school seemed to bind them tighter to their vows to her as she set about her new goals of reestablishing the Kiryuin Conglomerate once again as a viable superpower in the business world, and yet somehow making a move toward a more benevolent and charitable organization. Satsuki may have been Ragyou’s undisputed heir, but that didn’t mean there weren’t those who foolishly thought they could take advantage of her youth and perceived inexperience to wrest the company from her control.

They all failed, of course, but it grew tiresome nonetheless. Though only a few months before, Satsuki would have scoffed at the idea of frivolous rest while there was still work to be done, things had changed. Thus it was she agreed to Soroi’s suggestion that she take a vacation easily enough that he was taken aback.

Of course, she didn’t intend to take this chance for rest and relaxation on her own. She still had a strategic mind, and this seemed the perfect opportunity for a reunion...a “school trip” of sorts, at least in spirit.

“Hot springs trip, a hot springs trip!” Mako clung to Ryuko’s arm as she sing-songed, bouncing on the seat of the Kiryuin Conglomerate van that was taking them to their destination. The vehicle, though large, was crowded with not only Satsuki’s sister and her girlfriend, but the former student government as well.

“Ugh, slacker, quit with that tone-deaf racket!” Nonon tugged the floppy beret she was wearing down tighter, as if she could block out the sound of Mako’s childish singing with it.

“Mankanshoku is merely giving voice to her gratitude for Lady Satsuki’s generosity in inviting us all along!” Gamagoori rumbled from where he was wedged into the back-most seat.

“She can do that quietly!” Nonon shot back, though it was clear already that it was a lost cause, especially when Satsuki herself chuckled warmly and shook her head. The second seat from the back held Iori, Sanageyama, and Inumuta, who had ear buds firmly in place as his fingers flew over the keyboard of his laptop. Then Satsuki sat next to Ryuko on the next seat up, the two flanked by Nonon and Mako. In the front passenger seat was Soroi, while Hououmaru drove.

“Just put up with a little while longer,” Satsuki said, dropping one hand lightly to Nonon’s shoulder. “We’re nearly there.”

“If it’s a hot spring resort, we’ve got to have a ping-pong tournament!” Sanageyama clenched his fist determinedly, eyes shining as he grinned.

That got Mako’s attention, and she stopped her singing, flashing a bright smile of her own as she pumped her fist into the air. “Ooh! Yes, ping-pong! The loser has to pay for juice!”

“...what kind of nonsense are you spouting now? Lady Satsuki is already paying for this entire trip!”

Ryuko exchanged a glance with Satsuki and shrugged. It seemed even with the two of them between Mako and Nonon, it wasn’t enough to stop Nonon from bickering. It didn’t really matter, since her attempts to fight usually just rolled off Mako’s back as if they weren’t even noticed. Maybe they weren’t. It was hard to tell sometimes with Mako.

***

Two hours later, they’d arrived and had been shown to their rooms--the atmosphere of a school trip remained, as the girls were all sharing one room, and the boys another (though Soroi and Hououmaru each had a small private room of their own). The inn was an old one, with a rich history, and rather small. Satsuki had also rented out the entire inn for the weekend, so they were the only guests.

“Have you ever been on a trip like this before, Ryuko-chan?” Mako pushed their futons close together and took a few moments to smooth out the covers. “It’s my first time!”

Ryuko shook her head, grinning. “Nah, it’s a first for me, too!” She’d been too much of a delinquent in her youth to bother with this sort of thing before, but Mako’s enthusiasm was infectious. “C’mon now; Satsuki and Jakuzure already headed for the baths.”

Mako gasped. “You’re right, Ryuko-chan! We can’t let them defeat us!” She struck a determined pose, clenching her fist, before linking arms with Ryuko and fairly dragging her to the women’s changing area. From there, her friend quickly all but abandoned her, tearing off her clothes in record speed to lather up, rinse off, and go witness the open air hot spring for herself. Ryuko took a more subdued pace. It was a wonder Mako never seemed to run out of energy, especially when she was excited like this.

Still, it was only a few minutes later when Ryuko, wrapped in a towel, make her own way out to the open air bath. She found Satsuki and Nonon already soaking, and Mako paddling around the shallow water in a back float--though only for a moment, because she soon shot to her feet with a splash, waving her arm in the air as if Ryuko could possibly have missed her. “Ryuko-chaaan! C’mon! Take off that towel and jump right in!”

“Don’t you _dare_ jump in!” Nonon screeched, already dripping from Mako’s earlier splash. “Don’t you uncultured louts even know how to behave in an onsen?”

Ryuko hadn’t been planning to jump, but Nonon’s protests made it sound almost tempting... Instead she just hesitated at the edge of the pool, admiring the view. Twilight had fallen, and in the dimming light, the faint glow of fireflies was visible near the borders of the spring, rising up out of the carefully cultivated decorative bushes. Beyond that, a wall of dried bamboo rose up, shielding the bathers from any passing eye.

“...Ryuko-chan, you aren’t getting shy _now_ , are you?” Mako waded over to where Ryuko stood, her bare body exposed to the waist where she was submerged, and tugged lightly at the bottom of her friend’s concealing towel. “That’s no good! Your exhibitionist spirit needs to burn as brightly as ever, even if you happened to gain a little weight since school let out! Besides we already know you have a good body, so come and get...naked!”

“Mako! Wha--hey!” Any protests Ryuko was going to make were far too late, as Mako yanked the towel from her body and let it flutter safely to the ground some distance away, leaving Ryuko bare. Though she knew it was silly to get embarrassed at just a bath, especially when they all _had_ seen each other naked before, Ryuko couldn’t help blushing a little at the suddenness of it. Mako didn’t help matters by bringing her fingers to her mouth to let out a long wolf whistle

“That’s our Ryuko-chan! So sexy I’m getting a nosebleed!”

Ryuko laughed, wading down the steps into the pool to deliver a splash to Mako’s face. “Cool off, you goof. There are other people here, you know!” Well, it was just in good fun anyway. Mako didn’t really mean anything lecherous by it; that was just how the other girl was.

“Join us, Ryuko,” Satsuki spoke for the first time since Ryuko had arrived, motioning to a place beside her.

Still feeling that faint blush fading from her cheeks, Ryuko waded over to take a seat next to her sister. “Thank you, nee-san. For inviting us, and--”

Satsuki cut her off with a raised hand. “Don’t be so formal, Ryuko. Of course I’d want you and Mankanshoku here as well. Have some sake.” And, sure enough, there was a small serving platform floating near her sister. Satsuki began to pour out a dish for Ryuko.

Nonon sunk a little lower into the water to mutter something that sounded like, “Was it _really_ necessary to bring the slacker too?”

Mako, blissfully unaware of Nonon’s criticisms as always, had returned to doing a backstroke across the pool, humming tunelessly. The twilight deepened, and it wasn’t long before the first stars of evening were faintly visible in the sky. Besides the gentle sound of sloshing water, the pool was quiet, and Ryuko was content to simply lie back and enjoy the pleasant warmth of the water as it seemed to ease the stress from her body.

Of course that quiet was rather short-lived. Mako seemed to get a brain wave then, switching over to her front to do a crawl-stroke over to the other girls, her eyes shining brightly. Ryuko had come to recognize that look. Whatever idea Mako had in her head now wasn’t one she’d let go of easily. “Tonight...” She stopped swimming to plop herself next to Ryuko, sounding a little breathless, though it was more likely that was from excitement than exertion. “Tonight, we should have a test of courage!”

Ryuko laughed. “Uh, I don’t know if--”

“It would be perfect! We could do it after we eat dinner--ooh, will we have crab? Will there be crab?” For a moment, her eyes glazed over, as she no doubt was imagining a feast of crab for their meal. But then Mako shook her head, focus regained as she counted off on her fingers. “A ping-pong tournament, then a big crab dinner, and then out into the woods for a test of courage! And when we’re done, back to our room to tell ghost stories and hide under the covers till the break of dawn!”

This was clearly the last straw for Nonon. She let loose a kind of strangled squawk, rising to her feet to jab a finger at Mako’s chest. “Look here, slacker! We aren’t kids and this isn’t some dumb anime! If you want to tell stories instead of sleep, you can do it out in the hallway!”

Something about Nonon’s words seemed to catch on Mako’s mind, and she fell silent, seeming to mull it over. Nonon seemed satisfied, sitting back down with a smug smile, but Ryuko knew better. Mako hadn’t been cowed, merely...sidetracked. Still, it bought them a few more minutes of silence while the girl’s gears turned. Ryuko wasn’t at all surprised when Mako at last dropped a fist into her open palm, looking as if she’d had a revelation. “Of course!”

They all turned to look at her, but surprisingly, it was Satsuki who prompted her to go on. “Yes? What is it, Mankanshoku?”

“I can’t believe we overlooked something so _obvious_.” Mako leapt to her feet, striking a pose as she raised her arms and crossed them at the wrists. “If it’s a hot spring vacation, we can’t forget about the most important tradition of them all! Peeping!”

Somehow that took even Ryuko by surprise. She sputtered, choking a little on the sake she’d been sipping, and felt Satsuki drop a calming hand on her shoulder. Her older sister shook her head, her shorter hair swishing neatly around her amused expression before she drained her own sake dish and spoke. “No need to worry about that, Mankanshoku.”

Nonon tutted, appearing to think it over. “Are you sure, Satsuki-chan? I wouldn’t put it past the monkey...and that dog might sneak a peek claiming he’s ‘gathering data’...”

“No,” Satsuki gave one more decisive shake of her head. “Even if they did wish to, Gamagoori wouldn’t allow such indiscretions to take place.”

“Besides, we’ve all already seen each other naked anyway,” Ryuko muttered. “What would be the point?”

Rather than appearing reassured by this, Mako seemed more agitated than ever. “No, no; that won’t do at all! It doesn’t matter if we’ve seen each other naked in the past! A hot springs trip is a hot springs trip! It’s time to wash away the nakedness of the past and embrace the nudity of the now! I think you’re underestimating the importance of this tradition! The god of onsen won’t look kindly on us if we don’t pay proper tribute! If the boys won’t peep on us, then...then... _we’ll_ have to peep on them! _Someone has to do it!_ ”

Perhaps it was the sake. Perhaps it was the mood. Perhaps it was the result of a life lived in perfect, straitlaced order that needed a break from the routine. More likely, it was a combination of the three, and perhaps a little of that special persuasive magic Mako seemed to possess. Whatever the cause, there came, after a long moment of silence, the sound of Kiryuin Satsuki’s laughter.

“Mankanshoku,” she began, darting her glance to both Nonon and Ryuko as if daring them to oppose her, “I think you may be right. The god of hot springs demands his tribute!” Rising to her feet in one graceful motion, Satsuki threw out an arm dramatically as if she were addressing the entire student body of Honnouji Academy once more. “Ready yourselves! We’re going peeping!”

***

Accounts of what happened afterward are confused and largely hearsay.

We know for certain that at some point Gamagoori Ira fainted and bumped his head, because it took five of the inn’s staff to carry him out of the water and to his room, and they can all corroborate. Whether that was merely a result of staying too long in the hot water and growing lightheaded or if something else was the cause, we may never know for sure.


End file.
